Last week Wednesday, May 5, over 130 construction workers and a number of subcontractors marched on the Government’s Secretariat. They demanded that certain project work on the golf course be allowed to proceed without delay to ensure that their employment and earning of money was not disrupted. They were told that there was a procedure to follow and the interest of neighbouring landowners and that of the project itself had to be looked at on a whole and a decision would be made later in the day.

For the upset workers, it was a bread and butter issue and they were prepared to continue their protest and to call for an immediate solution that met their satisfaction. The attempt here is not to get into the underlying causes and ramifications of the matter. Suffice it to say that tempers were running high and in the initial stages the police had to try their very best to persuade the workers to remain calm and orderly. It is also fair to acknowledge the persuasiveness of persons like Lawyer Thomas Astaphan (whom they called to the scene to advise them) and leaders Lennard Bennett and James Lake for assisting to defuse the tension and eventually to have them leave the compound. This was also after they were addressed by the Chief Minister and the Minister of Finance.

The workers saw the matter as an urgent one which they had to take up. The incident appears to some extent to highlight the need for a functioning union which might have been able to play a representative role. Obviously, the Labour Department, a branch of the Government, cannot effectively bargain on behalf of private sector workers when it comes to certain matters as was seen when an officer’s pleas for the protesters to discipline themselves were ignored. The truth is the trade union movement has not caught on in Anguilla as it has in some islands and it is a matter of debate whether it is possible to get workers to be faithful contributors to union dues to keep an organisation alive. On the other hand labour disputes and other misunderstandings on a big scale are really rare occurrences.

What the angry march on the Government has shown is that people’s power and tolerance when put to the test can be an explosive situation if not handled with care. At the same time aggrieved persons for one reason or another must try to be rational in their thinking and actions and not allow their passions to run away with them. Government and all whom workers look up to, must also demonstrate understanding and care when dealing with sensitive situations. It is when the rights of everybody are taken into account that there can be agreement and peace.

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